The Raven and the Wolf
by Rae An
Summary: A strange young girl enters Ravenna's court with an offer for the queen. While she is hesitant at first, Ravenna soon learns that there is much more to this girl than meets the eye. femslash
1. Chapter 1

Few sought audience with the Queen these days. And those that did simply came to futilely beg. But this girl was different.

"A young girl requests an audience with you, my Queen," her guard had announced. "She brings a proposition, its nature she refuses to divulge to anyone except you."

Her curiosity piqued, the aureate Queen signaled with an elegantly lifted finger for the guard to escort the girl into her court.

Now as Ravenna sprawled over her gold-encrusted throne, she glared at the young girl sauntering between two guards towards her. The girl's dark robes were tattered and dirtied from traveling and her young face was muddied and weathered from the road. Ravenna couldn't help but recognize that the girl wasn't much older than Snow had been when the Queen took the thrown.

However, unlike Snow, the girl's skin was tanned and unusually scarred and worn for a child of her age. Her long hair fell in tangled raven waves over her shoulders, and her cracked lips curved dangerously in a slight grin. But the girl's eyes most captivated Ravenna. Determination and wisdom beyond the child's years gleamed in the pale green eyes as the girl fearlessly held the Queen's gaze. Through the dirt and scars Ravenna could see that this child would grow to be a great beauty, one that could charm nations and bring men to their knees. Perhaps even one that may threaten the Queen.

"Though she be but a child, be wary, my Queen," Finn whispered in Ravenna's ear as he stood beside her. "Strange stories about this one circle the kingdom."

As the child reached the throne, she gazed up at the magnificent display: the lavishly died fabrics draping the wall, the opulent gold decorating the throne, and the frightful Queen, commanding all.

"Kneel, child," one guard barked.

Ravenna observed curiously as the child glanced sidelong at the speaker, her grin stretching to reveal a neat set of pearls.

"Of course," she whispered, returning her gaze back to the Queen as she sunk to the floor.

"Child, what is your name?" the Queen crooned.

"Faolin, my Queen," the girl replied.

"Hm, little wolf," Ravenna hummed. "How fitting for the hunger I see in your eyes."

At this the girl grinned again, not an innocent, childish grin but the grin of one tainted by secrets and darkness. Ravenna had seen many strange people in her life, but this child threatened to push the Queen over that careful border between curious and unsettled.

"I'm told you have a proposition for me," Ravenna continued. "Tell me: what does a child have to offer a queen?"

A chuckle bubbled in the girl's throat.

"Eternal life," she answered.

At this the Queen's playful intrigue shifted to hostile concern.

"All, out!" she ordered as she gripped the arms of her throne.

When Finn and the midnight-clad guards had scuttled away, the Queen locked icy gazes with the girl.

"Speak, now," Ravenna ordered in low terseness.

The girl's visage revealed her twisted pleasure in the turmoil.

"I know that you must harvest life to sustain your own, your Grace," Faolin began. "Your magic cannot give you power alone; it must be fed."

As the child spoke, Ravenna sat in shock. This girl's womanhood had yet to even begin sprouting; she was so young, yet she spoke with the words and knowledge of a woman.

"How do you know this?" Ravenna breathed.

"Though I may appear young, I have lived many years," Faolin responded. "But, alas, I am cursed, and I am nearing death's door. I do not age as you do. Nor as any other human does. Instead of growing older with time, the changing of the seasons grants me increasing youth."

Disbelief first struck the Queen. But then she considered that no other explanation could account for the strange child before her.

"My proposition to you is this: let me work beside you, adding to your own my knowledge of many decades and lands. And in return I shall give you my youth. Take my years and turn back my time, while garnering lifeforce for yourself. I will grow older, and you will stay young. And when time grants me youth once again, you may harvest my years again. The cycle may continue endlessly."

The proposal seemed too good to be true. Ravenna could continue harvesting the lives of various girls throughout her kingdom, but with Faolin always in her court, resources may be reserved. And given the surprise the girl had held thus far, there was no limit to what other knowledge she may contain.

"I know you must be withholding something to this proposition, girl," the Queen rasped suspiciously.

"Perceptive indeed, my Queen," Faolin replied. "Yes, my one request is this: when you take my life, I would ask that you balance my age to the strong, healthy prime of life, much like the age which you maintain yourself. I don't revel in living as a child, nor do I relish the prospect of old age once more."

Ah, now Ravenna understood. The child's idea was equally as rewarding for Faolin as it was for Ravenna.

"And if I don't oblige your request?" the Queen pressed curiously.

"Then I will be old and decrepit and of no use to you for many years," the girl replied smartly. "If there comes a time when you need more life than I have to offer, I can easily gather girls for you or you can send out your guards as you have done before."

This child, this woman, was powerful and cunning. And not only this but she possessed the potential for dangerous beauty. Faolin posed a threat to Ravenna unlike any she had encountered thus far. She could dispose of her now, or she could keep her close by. The girl would depend on Ravenna to sustain her life, and so the Queen simply needed to always ensure that Faolin's demand for those services was present, a demand which time alone would create. But as Ravenna intended to keep this woman close, Faolin would learn much about the Queen, much that is hidden to the rest of the world. Ravenna couldn't risk betrayal at the hands of this threat that stood before her in a child's form. Faolin needed to understand Ravenna's power. Faolin must recognize Ravenna's authority.

"Come here, child," Ravenna hummed, holding out a gold-draped wrist to the girl. Faolin took the Queen's hand as she mounted the steps to the throne, coming to stand next to Ravenna.

As the Queen held Faolin's hand, Ravenna snaked her other jeweled hand to gently grip Faolin's small jaw, tilting it from side to side.

"You seem to know much," Ravenna breathed, surveying the girl's face. "And so I'm sure you know that I've killed entire villages: men, women, _and_ children. I will not hesitate to end you."

The Queen's grip tightened on Faolin's cheeks as Ravenna's nails dug into the girl's skin.

"If what you say is true, then you are no child at all, which makes it that much more meaningless for me to dispose of you. If you dare betray me in any way, not only will you die, but you will die a slow, tormented death, remembered by none, and mourned by none. I will obliterate you and every part of your legacy on this earth. I have before, and I will not hesitate to do it once more. Never forget this."

With unsettling pale eyes, Faolin met Ravenna's gaze carefully from the angle into which Ravenna had forced her face.

"Yes, my Queen," she replied quietly, sinister knowledge radiating from her green eyes.

For a moment the Queen and the child locked eyes, each assessing the other silently. And finally Ravenna released Faolin's slim jaw and covered the child's hand with her palm.

"I will accept your proposal, Faolin," Ravenna whispered. "But never forget what I have told you today. Never forget who rules these lands."

Faolin nodded silently, her gentle grin still resting on her lips.

"Guards!" Ravenna called, and immediately the men clambered back into the court. "Take Faolin to the maids and have them properly bathe and clothe her. She will be the newest member of our court."

As Ravenna urged Faolin towards the guards, Finn approached the throne. Waiting until the guards had left he said in a low voice, "My Queen, what have you brought into our house?"

"Finn, she will remain entirely dependent on me and will serve as a convenient source to ease my pain," Ravenna replied. "Time will tell us of what she is capable."

"She is dangerous, sister," Finn rasped angrily.

"Exactly why I am keeping her by my side," the Queen responded. "If she looks at me the wrong way, I will end her at no cost to myself."

Finn's icy gaze relayed his worry and indignation.

"Do not be jealous, brother," Ravenna teased cruelly. "It's rather pathetic."

Finn's jaw ground against his teeth.

"Queen, you know all I want is your happiness and safety," Finn growled through gritted teeth. "I have no doubt in your judgement and certainly not your power, but if this child, this thing, creates trouble, I will remove it."

"You will do no such thing!" Ravenna raised her voice deliberately, her patience wearing thin.

Finn bowed his head slowly, avoiding her fiery gaze.

"Trust me, brother," the Queen breathed calmly, rising from her throne to place a gentle palm against his pale cheek. "I will provide for you, no matter what. We made a promise to each other and I intend to keep it. Fear not."

"Never, my Queen," Finn replied quietly, submissively leaning his head into her hand as he covered it with his own.


	2. Chapter 2

Ravenna wavered before the shimmering gold apparition, palms facing up in submission.

"Why did you never warn me of this one, Mirror?" Ravenna breathed, eyes closed as she contemplated the tumultuous arrival of Faolin.

For a moment the glimmering figure swelled and hummed before her. Then it spoke in rolling, lowly thundering tones.

"Her beauty is not sustained as yours is, my Queen," the Mirror answered. "It wanes and waxes unlike any other."

"So it's true," the Queen whispered under her breath, eyes brimming with tears. Her interactions with the Mirror always drained her; her energy streamed from her body; her emotions churned like a roiling stew; her breaths grew shallow as her lungs struggled for air.

"And her heart is dark, my Queen," the Mirror added, malevolence dripping from its words. "Beware, for although her beauty does not always rival yours, the darkness of her heart surely does."

Ravenna hummed as she contemplated the Mirror's words. While she tried to force her mind to consider Faolin's childlike form as the aged woman she was, even the Queen herself struggled to see past the youthful limbs and ruddy cheeks. The woman was harboring some aspect that she couldn't yet decipher, and the mirage of childhood only complicated the matter. Faolin would need to be made an adult once more soon. And then Ravenna would learn the darkest secrets of her heart, her true power.

* * *

A few weeks had passed since the child's arrival, and Ravenna had grown accustomed to catching sight of her around the castle. As of yet she hadn't needed Faolin for lifeforce or council, but Ravenna could feel her strength fading and knew the time was near. It had been years since her last feeding, and she could feel the energy begin seeping out of her limbs.

She paced quietly in her chamber contemplating taking life from the child. Would the magic work as Faolin had suggested? Would she be able to stop herself once the lifeforce began flowing? Would Faolin truly recover her age?

All these queries circled her mind as she stepped quietly across her stone floors. Resting her hands on the windowsill, Ravenna looked down into the courtyard, watching the servants' children prance about the grass. And there, among them, was Faolin, her midnight hair floating like a dark shadow. What was she doing? Surely she had no interest in children's games.

Ravenna watched carefully, tracking Faolin's every move. Faolin traipsed around a young boy with fiery red hair, seeming to whisper something in his ear. He then darted to a group of boys while Faolin rejoined a small group of girls braiding flower crowns in the grass. Soon the boys sauntered over to the circle of girls, the red-headed boy in the front jeering and teasing the girls. He kicked one girl in the back and she leapt up, angrily facing him.

"I didn't know children entertained you so," Finn's voice echoed from her chamber door.

"It's not the children in which I'm interested," Ravenna replied, continuing her survey from the window.

She watched curiously as the red-headed boy shoved the girl onto the ground and began kicking her again. Suddenly Faolin was there, and in a dark blur her fist flew into the red-headed boy's face. As he collapsed onto the ground, she straddled his body and began pummeling him with her hands and elbows. A dark satisfaction sprouted in Ravenna as she watched _her_ child ruthlessly attack her target. Perhaps there was indeed more to the child than met the eye.

While the boys jeered and chanted and the girls looked on in shock, an old maid finally waddled over to the fight, dragging the brawling young ones apart.

"Go retrieve Faolin and bring her to me," Ravenna ordered Finn.

"Yes, majesty," Finn replied before scurrying out of the room.

Soon Finn returned with Faolin, her fists bloodied and her eyes ravenous.

"My Queen, your _pet_ is out of control," Finn growled as he thrust Faolin into the room with a tight grip on her arm.

A satisfied smile grew on Ravenna's face.

"I would beg to differ," she hummed. "She's quite in control."

"But she should be _under_ control," Finn retorted hotly.

"You may leave us now, brother," the Queen replied, not taking her eyes from Faolin.

Finn angrily released Faolin's arm, stalking from the room.

"Are you going to punish me?" Faolin began, quietly. But no fear shone in her face, only cunning satisfaction.

"Child, you know I see all," Ravenna replied, beginning to pace across the floor. "Now tell me: why did you do that?"

"I needed a way to win the approval of the young girls," Faolin stated bluntly. "They didn't trust me. I believe they sensed my abnormality."

Ravenna lifted an eyebrow in curiosity.

"So I prompted that idiot to tease the girls, convincing him that we secretly enjoyed that kind of attention," the girl explained, shrugging. "And when he took it too far, as I knew he would, I protected the girls and now they trust me. It worked rather beautifully, if I do say so myself."

The Queen grew more and more pleased that she had decided to keep Faolin by her side.

"And why did you need the girls to trust you?" the Queen probed further.

"The adults are uneasy around me and I need some allies in order to survive in my current state," Faolin responded, gesturing to her small body.

"And the boys? Are they now your enemies?" Ravenna questioned.

"On the contrary, they respect me," Faolin answered with a grin. "Even the red-headed idiot realizes I was just in my actions because he knows he went too far."

"Hm, I see," Ravenna hummed. If the child's actions were any indication of her abilities to reason with regards to matters of the kingdom, Faolin would prove to be a valuable asset. But she would be far more useful to Ravenna as an adult.

"I'm impressed, child," the Queen continued. "But I believe I'm feeling a bit tired. I think your time with the children has come to an end."

Faolin's eyes widened and a smile stretched across her face.

"This will not be a pleasant experience, but you must trust that I will end it quickly," the Queen explained, gripping the child's slim jaw and tilting Faolin's face to meet her own.

"Wait," Faolin said hurriedly, suddenly slipping out of her clothes.

Appalled, the Queen stepped back quickly. "Faolin, what are you doing?"

"When you take my years, I will grow," she replied. "I don't want to be stuck in this child's clothing."

Ravenna nodded in understanding and approached the bare child with furrowed brows, taking hold of the small jaw once again.

"Don't resist," the Queen whispered.

Faolin nodded silently, meeting Ravenna's eyes in resolution. The Queen's magic seeped into Faolin's limbs, seeking her lifeforce, and began gathering it like a cloth absorbing water. For a moment, Ravenna felt Faolin's intense terror spreading through her nerves, but as Faolin's life began flowing from her little body, Faolin accepted a state of tremulous resolve. And surely, when Ravenna's body began filling with Faolin's lifeforce, the child's body began changing. Her stature increased and her childish features developed into those of a woman. And suddenly Ravenna was holding not the pudgy cheeks of a wide-eyed child but the chiseled jaw of a formidably beautiful woman. The Queen quickly released the woman, cutting off the flow of lifeforce, and Faolin collapsed to the floor, gasping.

Ravenna surveyed the astonishing woman she had brought into existence. As Faolin recovered and rose to face Ravenna once more, the new woman stood just shorter than the Queen, her pale, chilling eyes her only feature left untouched. Her face had slimmed, and definition had reshaped her cheeks. Her now full lips slightly parted as her chest heaved for breath, a chest that was certainly no longer a child's. Faolin's waist now curved gently, and her strong hips now cradled her newly matured flower.

"You like what you see, my Queen?" Faolin rasped breathlessly, her voice no longer carrying the high pitch of a child, but the low silky tones of a woman.

Ravenna brought her fingers to Faolin's new face, young like her own, but still possessing wisdom beyond her years. The Queen tilted the woman's jaw, examining her beautiful features. Although a few scars still riddled her skin, her eyes shone brightly from under her thick lashes and her cheeks curved elegantly under the shade of her shadowy waves.

"Yes, I do," Ravenna replied with a grin. "And so too will many others. But for now you mustn't oblige anyone without my consent."

"Is that jealousy I hear, my Queen?" Faolin responded insolently.

Anger flared in Ravenna's chest and suddenly she drove a jeweled hand across that face which she had held so gently a moment before.

"You have yet to earn my trust, _child_ ," Ravenna growled deliberately. "I believe you have the potential to be a powerful weapon. But until that time, I will not have you compromise my court to satisfy base desire."

"As your brother does?" Foalin replied lowly, her insolence clearly undeterred by the Queen's outburst. "I've seen what he does with the women. You know."

"Finn has proven himself time and again to me," Ravenna explained calmly. "I know that he won't betray me for foolish infatuation."

"I see," Faolin responded, her gaze dropping as a shiver racked her bare limbs.

Ravenna sauntered to her expansive wardrobe and retrieved a thick, regal robe, died red and fringed with gold. When Faolin had dawned the robe, the Queen gestured to a couple lushly padded chairs near the fireplace saying "Come sit. Let us talk for a while."

As the women sat, Ravenna conjured a flame in the fireplace and hot tea in the cups sitting on the table between the two chairs.

"Faolin, tell me: have you ever loved someone?" the Queen began softly, assessing Faolin's dark face carefully.

"I loved my mother," Faolin responded readily, seemingly unperturbed by the intimate question. "But truly, she didn't love me. She wanted a child, and as you can imagine, I was something of an abomination. Old body and a young mind—an unsettling combination, I'm sure."

"Well, then answer me this: have you ever been _in_ love?" Ravenna probed intentionally, sipping her tea. With this question she hoped to uncover Faolin's true nature.

"I've thought I was before," Faolin answered, quiet anger simmering in her carefully toned voice. "When I was in the prime of life before my childhood—a few decades ago—building relationships with people my age became much easier than it had been in my beginning years. I didn't stand out since my physical age and maturity matched those around me. I grew friendships with the women in my town and even fell into an intimate relationship with a man. For years everything was so good, I just couldn't bear to ruin the spell and risk divulging my secret. I loved those women and that man, and they loved me. And I loved the feeling of normalcy. But over the course of a decade or so, my secret became physically apparent as I aged in one direction, and they in the other. Nothing happened suddenly, but my relationships began becoming distant and strained. People began pulling away from me, and when I finally admitted to my closest friends my curse, they didn't understand. They thought I was practicing dark magic or some other forbidden art. I then told the man with whom I lived, the man I loved, and he seemed to accept it. But I realized the finality of it all when a few months later, that same man left me, claiming a life with me to be too 'unsettling' and 'unnatural.' In the next few months, I had nobody. Not only was I an outcast, but soon, the atmosphere became hostile. People began harassing me, and when I feared for my life, I fled. So to answer your question, yes and no. At one time when everything was good, I would say yes. And now, after I realized none of it was real, I would say no. That wasn't love. I'd like to believe love doesn't hurt like that."

Ravenna had suspected something like this. No one with a condition like Faolin's could have escaped hatred. But at least Ravenna had her brother and her sister. It seemed Faolin truly had no one. But because of this Faolin wouldn't fall for a man's loveless façade that many other women would. She had learned her lesson long ago.

"And what of lust? What of your experiences with it?" Ravenna pried further. Almost as potent as love, lust drove men and, sometimes, women to great lengths. But that balance of power lies in control—whether lust controls one or one controls lust. She needed to know where along that spectrum Faolin lie.

"What a boldly intimate question, my Queen," Faolin replied with a mischievous smile.

"And I would like a shamelessly frank answer," Ravenna returned curtly.

"I've looked like this once before," Faolin sighed, gesturing to her young body. "And as you said, many were interested in what they saw. After fleeing the town I had once loved, I began taking what I could get from the world, seeing as it was loath to give anything willingly. I found that life's simple pleasures should be indulged. And lust is the most simply satiated of all, when both parties maintain the same mindset. From my experience it's a simple need like food or shelter; it just takes another person to satisfy it. And many endeavored to have me to satisfy their needs, both men _and_ women, some of which I obliged, some I didn't."

Faolin shrugged with an arch grin resting on her lips.

"But never was I a slave to it," she continued earnestly. "I saw how it ruthlessly enslaved men, how it drove them to betray and kill. And I knew to always keep myself from the edge of its unrelenting pull. But that didn't mean I couldn't make use of it, as both a weapon to wield and a source to satisfy my own desires."

Ravenna rested her forearms on the lush arms of the chair in satisfaction. The child, the woman, was perfect. She had already learned all the lessons Ravenna dreaded to teach her.

"Tell me, Faolin," Ravenna began mischievously. "Which do you prefer, men or women?"

Faolin's lips curved in an amused grin.

"Well, from my experience, each has their strengths," Faolin began coyly. "I find that men satisfy more deeply when they do the job right. But they rarely do the job right. However, a woman always knows what a woman wants."

Ravenna scoffed with a huff as she sank back into the chair. She had found that women weren't as susceptible as men to that relentless physical ensnarement that was lust. However, women were so eager to lose themselves for something which might satisfy that bottomless yearning they all seem to have for appreciation, for acceptance. Love. It renders the female creature more susceptible to manipulation of another kind. When they believe they are truly cherished and wanted, they become clay in the hand, tender for sculpting into any form. And yet they too are subject to the throws of lust, though not in entirety as are men. In a sense, they are doubly as malleable as men.

"Quite true," the Queen replied with a nod. While she prided herself on her seduction of men, women had always been just as easily within her reach. Ravenna never endeavored to maintain close relationships with anyone other than her siblings. As such she didn't interact with others, particularly other women, very often. However, the Queen reserved an intimate understanding of women's minds, a thorough perception of words which they would like to hear. And when the need arose, Ravenna simply translated that knowledge into a working verbal and physical manipulation of those women's minds.

A quiet fell between the two as Faolin assessed the Queen intently. "And you, my Queen?" the dark woman ventured softly.

Ravenna hummed in amusement at her pet's forwardness once more.

"Our minds and bodies are weak. Those that don't learn to control both become slaves to those of us who do," Ravenna replied. "Balancing life's pleasures allows dominion over those who allow themselves to be ruled by base desire. It has its time and place—how well I know—but otherwise it is simply a tool for manipulation."

"My Queen, as _stimulating_ as this exchange is, I fail to perceive the intention of the interview…" Faolin ventured curiously.

Ravenna's lips arched in a slight grin.

"You have become closer to my workings in such a shorter time than any other person. At this point I have two options to deal with you: keep you close as a weapon or eliminate any threat you may pose by disposing of you completely. I need to know the inner facets of your mind so that I can decide which course of action to follow."

At this Ravenna watched Faolin's cheeks pale as the woman finally grasped her complete powerlessness in the presence of the queen.

"I've given you my word of good faith, but command me how you will and allow me demonstrate my devotion, my Queen," Faolin said, a frantic twinge distorting her words. "Because of the nature of our agreement, my life is quite literally in your hands. But this aside, I desire to please you. Please, let me prove my worth."

Ravenna's chest roiled with warm contentment. The powerful woman before her professed absolute devotion to her. She controlled the creature completely.

"You shall have your opportunity, child," Ravenna reassured the woman. "I have a delivery for my sister in the northern kingdom. It is fortnight's journey from here. I shall send you and a battalion of guards to make the delivery. While you are there, I would like you to discretely take an inventory of her grounds. I want to know what kind of forces she trains, what supply lines she receives, what courtiers she entertains, what funds she maintains. Everything you can gather. I have reason to believe she may be deceiving me as of late."

Ravenna watched carefully as Faolin's tense face suddenly relaxed.

"Yes, your majesty," she replied. "When do I leave?"

"I can arrange everything by tomorrow morning," Ravenna said as she stood, Faolin following suit. "But you'll need some different clothing…"

The queen turned to face Faolin, fingering the gold fringe on the lapel of the robe. "I don't believe this garb is best suited for traveling," the queen hummed, retrieving her traveling robes from the wardrobe and laying them across the bed before approaching Faolin once more.

Ravenna deftly unknotted the tie at Faolin's waist and slipped her hands under the robe at Faolin's shoulders as the woman eyed her curiously. Ravenna's palms slid down Faolin's muscled arms as she freed the woman from the robe, shamelessly assessing her work.

"My Queen, would you not preserve a woman's decency?" Faolin whispered with a sly grin.

Ravenna met Faolin's gray eyes intently.

"Don't you understand, child?" Ravenna breathed, intoxicating power flooding her mind as she cupped a hand around Faolin's cheek. "You are mine. Wholly mine."

* * *

"Freya, I'm sending to you an agent of mine," Ravenna breathed into the raven she cradled. "She believes she is coming to investigate your kingdom and bring me word of your operations, but you are the only one I can trust. I need you to test her."

Ravenna whispered her instructions to the bird, detailing her intentions for her sister and her new pet. The plan must be executed flawlessly or Faolin would catch wind of a conspiracy. But Ravenna needed to know the true nature of Faolin's loyalty to her, and the best tool to evaluate that loyalty would be none other than her most trusted confidant.

She watched the bird flutter up and out of the skylight, carrying her message north to the ice kingdom. It had been decades since she'd had anyone like Faolin. The Queen truly hoped the ageling didn't fail her.


	3. Chapter 3

A frantic prodding dragged Ravenna from her sleep. As she surfaced from the underworld of dreams, the prodding in her mind became a desperate grasp, a panicked battering. And it wasn't Finn. She knew his touch, and his thoughts were usually cohesive and pointed. This was the unskilled, primitive derangement of a despondent individual, projecting pure emotion into the Queen's consciousness. But only a few times had she ever felt the touch of a mind other than that of her brother. This one was unfamiliar.

Her curiosity piqued, she roused herself from her chambers and began gliding through the halls in search of the mental beacon. As she stalked down a dimly lit stone corridor, the touch strengthened and the emotion grew more pointed. As she neared a closed, wooden door, the raw intention became clear: _help_. The individual clung at her mind franticly in hoping to find a savior. Perhaps this was their lucky night.

Ravenna suddenly flung open the door, enraged by what she saw. On the ground scrambled a guard who was thrown back when she burst through the door, and behind him against the back wall of the small room facing Ravenna was Faolin. But she wasn't alone. Over her mouth clamped the hand of another panting guard as he forced himself repeatedly between her legs, his breeches around his ankles while Faolin's skirts tucked around her hips.

With a hateful twist of the Queen's wrist, both men's heads whipped unnaturally with resounding cracks as they crumpled to the ground. Her gold bangles jingled as the men's lives vanished. Faolin sunk to the ground, gasping for breath as the Queen approached her.

Ravenna gazed down intently at the trembling woman.

"Stand up," Ravenna said quietly as she stood before the huddled woman. Faolin didn't move.

"Stand up!" Ravenna ordered with a growl, gripping Faolin by the arm and effortlessly dragging the woman to her feet.

"Look at me, child," Ravenna whispered, turning her harsh grip on Faolin's arm into a gentle touch on Faolin's cheek. The Queen directed Faolin's visage to her own. As the raven hair parted across the woman's cheek, Ravenna saw thin streaks of tears dripping down Faolin's cheeks.

"They were too strong?" Ravenna questioned knowingly.

A silent nod from the woman trembling in her hands.

"We shall remedy that soon enough," the Queen hummed. Freya's huntsmen would train Faolin, and this wouldn't happen again. She had ambitious plans for Faolin contingent on Ravenna's trust in the woman. Plans to mold Faolin into an even more formidable force.

"Come to my chambers, and let us speak a while," Ravenna ushered, taking Faolin's limp arm and looping it through her own.

In silence the two women trekked back through the cavernous halls to Ravenna's rooms, Faolin limping as she clung to Ravenna. The Queen led Faolin through the main bedroom and into an adjacent bath room, the ceiling domed and buttressed like a cathedral and the looming, floor-to-ceiling windows gazing sightlessly out into the midnight realm while crystalline moonlight filtered through the glass. An expansive pool occupied most of the floor and the water lay placid and clear among the tiles.

"Get in," Ravenna urged, releasing Faolin's arm and ushering her towards the dark water. "You should clean yourself after their touch." Not even a seer could have uncovered what uncleanliness those guards' bodies hosted.

As Faolin tugged at her dress, Ravenna rested in an ornate chair under the windows, still garbed in her cream sleep gown and flowing, white night robes. She surveyed the ageling unabashedly as Faolin shamelessly dropped her skirts to the tile floor and tied up her long tresses. In the silvery light Ravenna was reminded what an exquisite creature the woman was, her lean limbs and gentle curves reflecting the moon beams. Faolin glanced at the Queen and Ravenna nodded imperceptibly in permission before the raven-haired woman slipped into the water, ripples echoing over the glimmering surface.

Faolin's touch had retreated from Ravenna's mind during the Queen's chaotic encounter with the guards. But Ravenna wasn't obliged to forget the phenomenon so easily. The Queen rose from her chair and glided to face the windows, surveying the night-blanketed ocean, wave crests twinkling with the touch of stars and moon.

"Faolin," Ravenna addressed the woman without turning to face the pool, "What were you doing roaming the castle at this hour?"

A moment of silence trickled between them, only broken by the sound of the bath lapping at the edges of the tile and gently kissing Faolin's skin.

"I couldn't sleep, my Queen," Faolin replied weakly.

"Does something trouble you?" Ravenna probed. Faolin was keeping something from her.

"Your Grace, I—." Faolin's voice faltered and choked as a sob rose in her throat.

Perhaps the interrogation could wait until tomorrow. But no, Faolin was vulnerable now, and Ravenna needed answers.

"Faolin, I need the truth now," she said coolly, folding her arms into her robes as she continued to gaze out the windows.

The sniffling subsided.

"Ever since my beginning years, I've had an ability to venture out with my mind. To explore the world with thoughts, if that makes any sense," Faolin replied quietly.

"Yes, I know exactly of what you speak. Mindwalking."

"Tonight I felt the faintest nagging of distress, like someone else with this ability reaching out to me. Its persistence kept me from sleep," Faolin explained. "So I went out to find the source, and you know the rest."

Surely Faolin hadn't touched Snow. Snow White was far up in the most secluded tower. And to the Queen's knowledge, Snow White had no ability to mindwalk. Unless a mindwalker intentionally reached out to search, someone without the ability couldn't project their emotions to a mindwalker.

"In truth, this ability has been in my family for centuries, and I've only ever encountered a few who also maintain the skill," the Queen began carefully. "Because of this fact, I sometimes neglect to keep my mind in check. What you felt was likely me or my brother suffering a fitful bout of sleep."

Although Snow's existence was no secret among the court, the Queen had intended to expose Faolin to the girl in a carefully controlled manner once she knew absolutely that she could trust the woman. Now was not the time. However, the reveal of Faolin's ability greatly increased the woman's value to the Queen.

Ravenna shut her eyes to the starlight and tentatively ventured out with her mind, easing towards Faolin's ebbing despondency. The tendrils of Ravenna's mind snaked around Faolin's.

 _Can you control it?_ Ravenna communicated.

A jumble of uncertain swirling thoughts. _No._

Rapidfire. _Cold bath water._

A flash of a dark memory. _Yes._

Faolin's resolve shimmered like a mirage. _Sometimes,_ she concluded.

 _You will learn,_ Ravenna replied fluidly. _I will teach you._

The Queen flexed her mind around Faolin's, constricting it.

 _Realize your mind as an extension of your body,_ Ravenna minded. _Parts, muscles, reaches, limits._

She squeezed tighter, Faolin's thoughts beginning to tremble under the pressure.

 _That's it. Consciously mind your thoughts as you would your body._ Feel _it,_ Ravenna implored. The first time she felt true pain in her mind was when she realized its definite nature, its ability to be used just like any other body part. She tightened her grip, and Faolin shuddered under the pressure.

Faolin groaned from the pool as her thoughts took on a pleading tone.

Ravenna pivoted to face the pool, her robes whirling around her. The raven-haired woman had planted her hands at the edge of the pool, head down as her ribs heaved.

Faolin's thoughts became more frantic, but one word materialized.

 _Ravenna._

No one referred to her by that name. For a moment the Queen wavered.

"Please," Faolin choked from the water. Ravenna knew her pain. When something constricts your mind, your thoughts become obsolete. Your mind becomes empty and meaningless, making way only for fearful despair to take hold as you lose track of time and yourself.

 _Enough,_ Ravenna wisped.

"Enough," the Queen breathed once more as she retrieved a blanket from a table by the windows and approached the pool.

"Come, child," Ravenna invited as she unfolded the blanket holding it across her body with open arms, ushering Faolin to her. As the sniffling woman dragged herself from the bath, she nestled herself in Ravenna's arms as the Queen wrapped the blanket around the dripping woman. Faolin shivered as another sob ricocheted through her limbs. Ravenna drew back from Faolin and surveyed the woman's beautifully dark features in the silvery night. Faolin's gaze fell to the floor as tears dripped silently off her cheeks. The Queen lifted gentle fingertips to Faolin's face, brushing at the tears.

For a moment, remorse slipped across her mind as she considered the pain she had heaped on Faolin's mind in addition to that incited by her gaurds.

"Beauty is a curse and a blessing," Ravenna breathed. "It is a formidable weapon, but when control slips away, that weapon can turn on the wielder just as quickly. I know your pain."

Ravenna had lived many lifetimes and was no stranger to the dangers that beauty drew: the insatiable lust of men, the fiery jealousy of women. When she was weaker, she too had experienced pain at the hands of a man. But she would train Faolin, strengthen her, and then none but Ravenna herself would be a threat to the woman.

"The night is exhausted and so are you," the Queen whispered into Faolin's dark hair. "Let's sleep and worry no more about tonight."

Ravenna was surprised to find in herself a touch of that same tenderness she only ever held for her brother and sister.

The Queen led Faolin, crying gently, back into the bed room and guided the woman onto Ravenna's expansive bed. As Faolin lay petrified on her side, Ravenna shed her night robes and slipped into the sheets facing the sniffling woman. The Queen lifted a hand to Faolin's tear-streaked cheek, brushing away the droplets once more.

"Sleep now, and forget about the world," Ravenna hummed. She closed her eyes, reaching out her consciousness toward Faolin and engulfing the woman's mind in her own tranquility. Faolin's sharp breaths slowed and her sobs subsided as Ravenna felt the woman's mind faintly slip into oblivious sleep.


End file.
